Brice’s Creek Bible Church hosts annual Nativity Drive-Through

Jeff Mabe works on a set piece high in the air in preparation for Brice’s Creek Bible Church’s annual Nativity Drive-Through.

Bill Hand/Sun Journal

By Cathryn Lindsay, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Monday, December 16, 2013 at 04:51 PM.

Brice’s Creek Bible Church is hosting its ninth annual Christmas Nativity Drive-Through now through Thursday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. each night at the field down the street from the church located at 3998 U.S. 70 East near New Bern. This year’s theme is “The Wisemen’s Journey.”

Visitors to this free live performance can choose to drive through the scenes in a guided tour or they can sign up for the hayride, which leaves from the church 10 minutes before tour time. Hayrides seats can be reserved online at http://www.bricescreekbiblechurch.org.

About 8,000 people visit the event every year, and hayride seats fill up fast, according to Pastor Barry Teague, the senior pastor of the church.

“Christmas is such a special time,” he said. “People try to reconnect with who God is and what he has done for them, that God so loved the world he gave his only Son.”

Visitors to the event will drive to the large stone gate on a road lit by more than 2,000 luminaries. At the gate, they will be transported back to the time of Jesus’s birth, explained Jud Howry, the community life pastor for the church.

A scene will set the tone of life over 2,000 years ago, and Roman guards will stand post at the gate, admitting vehicle groups to view the live-action story. As cars wait, actors will engage guests and allow them to pet and view newborn ewes.

“It helps people get into that era, the time of Jesus,” Howry said. “It’s pretty intimidating to see them, dressed in full Roman garb. It was definitely worth it.”

Brice’s Creek Bible Church is hosting its ninth annual Christmas Nativity Drive-Through now through Thursday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. each night at the field down the street from the church located at 3998 U.S. 70 East near New Bern. This year’s theme is “The Wisemen’s Journey.”

Visitors to this free live performance can choose to drive through the scenes in a guided tour or they can sign up for the hayride, which leaves from the church 10 minutes before tour time. Hayrides seats can be reserved online at http://www.bricescreekbiblechurch.org.

About 8,000 people visit the event every year, and hayride seats fill up fast, according to Pastor Barry Teague, the senior pastor of the church.

“Christmas is such a special time,” he said. “People try to reconnect with who God is and what he has done for them, that God so loved the world he gave his only Son.”

Visitors to the event will drive to the large stone gate on a road lit by more than 2,000 luminaries. At the gate, they will be transported back to the time of Jesus’s birth, explained Jud Howry, the community life pastor for the church.

A scene will set the tone of life over 2,000 years ago, and Roman guards will stand post at the gate, admitting vehicle groups to view the live-action story. As cars wait, actors will engage guests and allow them to pet and view newborn ewes.

“It helps people get into that era, the time of Jesus,” Howry said. “It’s pretty intimidating to see them, dressed in full Roman garb. It was definitely worth it.”

Guests will be guided through six scenes telling the story of the Three Wisemen and their journey to the newborn Jesus. Each hand-built set will portray a different part of the story and will feature live actors and animals. Speakers will project the sound so visitors can easily hear dialogue in their vehicles. This year’s event will feature new sets and features, such as live angels 20 feet in the air, according to Howry.

After the hayride, riders will return to the church where they can partake in free cider, cookies and hot chocolate and take pictures with a Roman guard or angel.

Two hundred volunteers, 90 being actors, have spent the past several months creating the detailed drive-through. The all-volunteer jobs include acting, directing traffic, building sets, decorating sets, connecting electricity and caring for the live animals — all to make what Teague calls “the greatest story ever told, the story of the Savior’s birth.”

All of the cost and volunteer billets were taken care of by the church congregation.

“We want 20 years from now these kids knowing the story of what Christmas is really about and attributing that to our drive-through. It’s a visual image they can relate to, and it stays with them,” Teague said. “We want to give people the opportunity to slow down and reflect on the Christmas message.”